Banded almost 3 months and off course...

[tamra. 6]

Well, here is my issue!

I am ADDICTED TO SUGAR!!

I was banded 1/20, and have only lost 18 lbs since (lost 38 pre surgery). I have had 1 fill and currently have 5 ccs.

I have never had the restriction people talk about, the pb'ing, etc. I guess my band is easy. but thats the issue. I can eat EVERYTHING!!

:thumbdown::cursing:

EVERYDAY I tell myself ok back on track, and by the afternoon I am eating bad.

Anyone have some good ol advice for me, to get my head back in the game?

[blackdoll 0]

I'm with you I had lap band 7/14/09 and I lost 20 pounds on my own before and maybe 25 after and its hard. I'm staying on track this time I'm willing to support you and we can do this together. GOOD LUCK!

[Pink48 0]

It sounds like you need another fill. I love sugar too but have found most of the sugar free stuff taste just as good sugar Cookies, ice creme ect. I was banded 12/14/2009 and have had 3 fills. I am down 38 pounds. Best of luck to you

[babyka16 0]

you should alow yourself to eat good for 4 to 5 days then take the weekend off! it will keep you on track and your body wont go into starvation mood because you have to cut back caleries! no one eats just right...you have to find whats right for you. im a sweet kind of person too and there is no way ill give that up but i have to watch how much i eat of it. and with your band... you will find your sweet spot everyone talks about! i thought just the same tell i got there, and that was only a few weeks ago. i was banded 10/20/09 so its taken some time but im getting there! good luck

karen

[juliansmom2003 3]

Well, here is my issue!

I am ADDICTED TO SUGAR!!

I was banded 1/20, and have only lost 18 lbs since (lost 38 pre surgery). I have had 1 fill and currently have 5 ccs.

I have never had the restriction people talk about, the pb'ing, etc. I guess my band is easy. but thats the issue. I can eat EVERYTHING!!

:thumbdown::cursing:

EVERYDAY I tell myself ok back on track, and by the afternoon I am eating bad.

Anyone have some good ol advice for me, to get my head back in the game?

Honestly, I'd actually try the 5-day pouch test (I know I have suggested this a million times, but it really helped me). It almost detoxes you again, gets you back on track and sometimes shrinks that pouch as well. Here is the site with all the info: Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

Hopefully that will work for you. I am a huge sugar freak and caught myself snacking and it really helped curb it for me.

And I agree with Karen's post (and not because we have the same name :thumbup:)-- no one is perfect ALL the time. We are human. And while that doesn't mean binging constantly on bad things, you could allow yourself a cheat day once a week so you feel you aren't missing anything. To be honest, I started with two cheat days, then one and now I will indulge in moderation every now and then, but not on a specific day. I have noticed that as time has passed, my goal weight is getting closer and almost within reach and when I think about that, it makes me put that nasty cookie down LOL.

Have you ever gone to Hungry Girl.com? She has the BEST recipes that are band friendly and a lot lower in calories. Seriously, you should check the site out. I made Peanut Butter fudge over the weekend (65 CALORIES A SERVING!!) with just brownie mix, pumpkin and reduced fat Peanut Butter and it was a great treat, satisfied the sweet tooth and was a reasonable number of empty calories.

You'll find what works best for you, trust me. This site is the best--I've learned so much here!

Good luck to you!!

[BetsyB 9]

How often do you see the doctor? It sounds as though you need to work with him/her to achieve restriction. Really, it's enormously easier when you reach that point!

That said, sugar's not going to decide not to leap into your mouth. You're going to need to make a conscious decision to eat the right foods. Even before you reach restriction (which may take more than a couple more fills, depending on how aggressive your doctor is), you can and should be making choices that promote loss---and sadly, sugar doesn't qualify.

I empathize--I have a sweet tooth a mile long.

My doctor asks his patients to commit to a YEAR of not indulging---to really focus on achieving 75 percent of excess weight lost (or more) before even adding starchy foods back in. I think he's on to something, actually; when you don't eat starches and sugars, your desire for them really does vanish.

[curiousinoh 0]

If you can eat anything than you might was well not have the band. It took me four fills to get good restriction and when you get it you will still be able to eat sugars - they slide down but you wont be able to eat LOTS of other things like bread, pizza, Pasta, etc.

If you can still eat everything than you need A LOT more ccs in your band. Dont get a band and then not fill it. Tell the dr. to fill her up!!!!

I am a sugar freak too but after I got restriction and found how hard it was to eat the desire for sweets went away also.

[♥Amy♥ 5]

you should alow yourself to eat good for 4 to 5 days then take the weekend off! it will keep you on track and your body wont go into starvation mood because you have to cut back caleries! no one eats just right...

I wholeheartedly disagre with this statement. Taking the weekend off is a bad idea. You can have whatever within reason as long as it's not a trigger food. Meaning it's not one of those foods that if you have one serving you end up eating multiple servings and you can't stop yourself.

For me, I pretty much know what my trigger foods are and as hard as it is when they're around I just say "NO!" because I know once i put my mouth around any of it I won't be able to stop myself.

Maybe you need to just not give in to your sugar addiction. I know it seems tough and it is but if any of this was easy do you think you would have needed this surgery? Before you put any food in your mouth you should ask yourself if it's one of those foods that are going to do you in or will it satisfy you to have one small serving and be done.

Edited April 7, 2010 by ♥Amy♥

[tamra. 6]

Morning

Thanks everyone!!

This is the catch. With my insurance you cannot just "get a fill" my surgeon decides if I get one or not. I see him again on May 6th for a checkup, and am hoping he adds one more CC.

I am going to take Julian's advice and start this 5 day pouch test today. I happen to have shakes, etc. so wish me luck!!

Also about the taking the weekends off, I have done that and I fall off track easier doing it, because I tell myself eh its ok, back on track Monday, and it never happens :thumbdown:

[Cmor2k 0]

I am so glad I read this post! I was feeling like you, just can just about eat anything (except bread). I kind of lost my way but you guys helped me get back on track. Thanks for posting the information about the 5 day pouch plan. I think I can try that to get me going again. I was banded on 3/8/2010 and have lost about 20lbs pre-op and post-op.

[mirech 1]

You are doing great. Better than me, and I'm not even addicted to sugar. I had surgery on 1/28 and have only lost 20 lbs. TOTAL Pre and post op. I've lost weight slow so I just have to work a little bit harder.

So keep up the good work!

[tigerlilyhair 0]

Listen if you feel like you can eat anything you really need to see your doctor and work on filling to your sweet spot - you wont even want to eat - i am 19 months post op down 80 lbs and each lb is a struggle but has gotten easier lately weight coming off more consistantly it took me 7 fills along with 1 fill reduction and still 2 more fills think i am at 9 cc and now even a sip of chocolate mile feel heavy in my stomach - get maitanance - see your doctor the sugar thing will fade youw ill want to eat better food more Protein less crap - You can do it is hard but you are on the right track dont get frusterated that it is slow it is supposed to be you didnt just wake up one morning 50 lbs heavier and it isnt going to come off like that either - read your literature on lap band maximum results at 3 years post op now sweat make good changes and keep at it !!!!!!

[BetsyB 9]

With my insurance you cannot just "get a fill" my surgeon decides if I get one or not. I see him again on May 6th for a checkup, and am hoping he adds one more CC.

What's holding your doctor back from giving you a fill? What criteria does the doctor use to determine whether you need a fill? It should be a combination of things, including that you are able to overeat, and are doing so because you don't have adequate restriction. Your weight loss is also a factor, but should not be the only one. (For example, I'm losing at a rate consistent with good restriction. However, if I tell my doctor I'm losing because I'm white-knuckling it, he knows that a fill is appropriate.)

Be sure to be forthright with him about what you are eating and how your body responds. Be specific. Tell him things like, "If I eat 4 ounces of Protein and 1/2 cup of veggies, I'm not 'full,' but I'm no longer hungry. However, within x minutes, I'm hungry again."

If he has a specific eating plan, it's a good idea to be as compliant as possible so that you can report to him, within the context of what he expects you to eat, your results. Again, in terms such as, "I am sticking to the x ounces per meal you recommended. But it is not satisfying; I am hungry at the end of a meal (or within 90 minutes, or whatever...)."

My point is that one of the criteria used by doctors to determine readiness for a fill is patient compliance. Many doctors realize that it requires superhuman effort to comply when starving, and use that to gauge the need for adjustment. Others get pissy when their "rules" aren't being followed---and pissy can equal punitive, if you don't then get a fill.

If you have to wheedle a single cc from your doctor, I'm betting he's in the latter camp. And in that case, you need to play his game to get what you need. (Or, better, find a doctor who will give you adjustments when you need them, without requiring that you jump through hoops.)

Re: the 5-day pouch test. It can be a really good way to get back on track. But if you have difficulty day-to-day, it might be more extreme than you want or need. It might work better to commit to eating the way you've been instructed to eat. (My problem with the pouch test is that it perpetuates the overeat-crash diet mentality that the band is geared to help us break free from.)

[patsal 1]

Using phase one of the South Beach plan book will get you off the sugar addiction and in line with banded eating--lots of Protein and protein first. Two weeks seems like a long time, but it reallly goes by quickly. I'd say try it spot on for 3 days, if you think you can manage go for a week, if you did well with that week try it for the second week. So long as you don't add in the trigger foods (like white refined sugar snacks) and add whole grains into your eating you will see that the South Beach plan looks very much like what most NUTS suggest we eat after being banded.